Michał Schulz

Honeybees are important pollinators, but they are continuously exposed to a variety of fungal and bacterial diseases. One of the various diseases affecting honeybees is nosemosis caused by microsporidia from the Nosema genus. Honeybees are mainly infected through consumption of infected food or faeces containing Nosema spp. spores. Nosemosis causes damage to the middle intestine epithelium, which leads to food absorption disorders and honeybee malnutrition. Fumagillin, i.e., the antibiotic used to treat nosemosis, was withdrawn in 2016 from EU countries. Therefore, researchers have been looking for compounds of both natural and synthetic origin to fight nosemosis. Such compounds should not have a negative impact on bees but is expected to inhibit the disease. Natural compounds tested against nosemosis include, e.g., essential oils (EOs), plant extracts, propolis, and bacterial metabolites, while synthetic substances tested as anti-nosemosis agents are represented by porphyrins, vitamins, antibiotics, phenolic, ascorbic acids, and others. This publication presents an 18-year overview of various studies of a number of natural and synthetic compounds used in the treatment and prevention of nosemosis cited in PubMed, GoogleScholar, and CrossRef.

The Apicystis bombi neogregarines parasitize bumblebees. Apis mellifera is its accidental host, but, in the future, it might become its ultimate host. Using polymerase chain reaction and microscopic analysis, we found A. bombi in 1 of 10 apiaries in Central Europe. The colony was queenless, with rebel workers. The parasite was detected in the hemolymph and digestive tracts but not in the fat bodies of the honeybee workers, whereas in its original host (bumblebees), it also occurs in the fat bodies.